Wreath



` May 4, 1937. 1 l.. GRlsoLlA v 2,079,250

A WREATH Filed Deo. so, I`19s5 NVENTOR.

B l ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 4,'1937 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE WREATH Application December 30, 1935, Serial No. 56,674

10l Claims.

This invention relates to the fabrication of wreaths, especially of wreaths made of artificial materials, and relates more particularly to the fabrication of a decorative wreath from a multiplicity of components.

An object of the invention is to provide such a wreath of novel construction in which each of the components, or at least a preponderant member thereof, are formed as wisps of flexible, 10 translucent material, suchk as Cellophane,

` Glassine, of any desired color or of mingled co1- ors, and assembled upon a frame of any contour which may be found suitablel and attractive. i

In making decorative wreaths of artificial ma- '15 terials heretofore, it has been the conventional practice to wind long strips of colored paper around a core, or else to twist a long broad strip of paper upon its medial, longitudinal axis forming a structure of the order of an Archi- 2'0 medean screw, or ruffle, the convolutions of which were relied upon to secure the full effect in the nished product.

Wreaths of this type are found to be unduly stiff and formal in appearance, and this detracts from their attractiveness so that theyV are not as marketable as wreaths made of natural materials such as leaves, and in some instances it has been proposed to make the wreaths of articial leaves, or of small pieces of material associated in such a way as to simulate the effect ofleaves. This method of fabrication is too expensive for use vin `making wreaths for seasonal purposes, or for occasional use after which the wreath is discarded. 35 Undersuch conditions it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method for the fabrication of a .wreath in which a! flexible, translucent material preferably having brilliant coloring, so as to be highly attractive both when viewed by transmitted light and byreflected light, is formed into wisps ,of material by taking small oblong units of `the sheet material, of one or more plies, and twisting each such unit blank around its middle portion to form a region adapted for attachment, and then stitching or otherwise securing these wsps to a supporting frame in a manner which utilizes the brilliance, translucence and informal characteristics of the wisps in the most pleasing fashion, and Vat such low expense as to make it possible tomarket the wreaths at an attractive price.

Various other objects and advantages Vof the invention will become apparent as the description of the particular physical embodiment selectedto illustrate the invention progresses.

In the following specification, reference will be made to the accompanying drawing, in the Various figures of which like letters of reference designate corresponding parts, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a decorative wreath in the fabrication of which the present invention has been embodied; f

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, detail view in section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 3 is a View in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a view in'plan of one of the adornments shown in Fig. 1, taken separately and to be described more at length hereinafter.

In a now-preferred embodiment of the invention selected for illustration and description, the part designated generally by the reference character I I is a frame member of suitable material and contour, shown illustratively as a ring embodying a central wire I2 covered with fibrous or textile body material I3 to which the wreath components I4 may be readily secured as by a thread I5 stitched through the waists I6 of the wisps, as the components will hereinafter be designated for the sake of brevity, each stitch, as I'l, passing through several of the waists and then having a loop, as I8, stitched into the body I3 of the frame.

Various adornments are also shown as secured similarly to the frame ring II, as the conventional bow of ribbon A, which has its own stitching I9, knotted at 2l), for the sake of desirable looseness to permit adjustment of the bow.

A series of berry-like adornments, as B, are shown. at spaced intervals, each comprising a nucleus, as ZI, of suitable material, such as cotton, around which is twisted a cover of material 22, which may desirably be constituted by a small square of bright red, translucent Cellophane, as indicated in Fig. 4, although any other desirable material and colorv may be adopted'. The berry B in Fig. 2 is shown as secured by having one of the stitches Il ru'n through its twisted portion 22, thus holding the twist from coming apart, and also fastening the member B in selected position upon the wreath.

In the fabrication of wreaths according to the novel method which, as already indicated, constitutes an important feature of the present invention, a piece I4 of sheet material, preferably translucent, highly colored, Cellophane, Glassine, or like material, or any other suitable material, composite, woven or natural, is taken, and is twisted, as at I6, around a region intermediate its ends, to form what is hereindesignated as a wisp, this term being used for the sake of brevity and not in a sense limitative to the actual shape shown illustratively.

In the instance illustrated, the wisp is made of a single ply, and this is formed to give satisfactory results, although this is not intended to exclude the use of any desirable number of plies for each wisp, whether the plies are formed by folding the blank of sheet material upon itself before twisting, or are cut from two or more superimposed sheets of material, and then twisted.

It is clear that by using several plies of different colors, a great variety of color combinations and tints may be secured, and the combinations may be increased as desired, by providing wisps of diiferent colors. Y

This can be done readily, without increasing the cost, from a suitably varied stock of commercial sized sheets, as the remaining step, necessary to complete the fabrication of the wreath, comprises the simple operation of threading with a needle the waists of the wisps, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and after a suitable number have been accumulated on the thread, completing the stitch, and so on, until the frame has been entirely covered.

The nal appearance of the wreath is illustrated in Fig. l, parts being indicated in dash-dot lines, and in Fig. 2 the informal petal-like quality of the structure is shown more clearly, but it is of course not possible to show in a black-and- White drawing the beautiful, translucent color effects produced when light shines through the Wreath components, shifting as the observer changes his point of view, or as the wreath swings in the usual manner from a supporting loop or a Christmas tree, or in other locations.

The frame l l may be very attenuated relatively to the breadth of the wreath components, and is quite concealed by their twisted positions, as shown clearly in Fig. l, so that the light can shine through the major portions of the wisps, being graded in tint from the denser central portions to the outer, less twisted ends.

The particular physical embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is one which has been found satisfactory, but is to be understood as merely illustrative as it does not exhaust the possible physical embodiment which may embody the underlying idea of means which characterizes this invention.

The expression wreath, as used herein, is not intended to be limitative to a wreath of conventional shape, but is a generic term intended to include a wide variety of articles of different shapes, such as hearts, ovals, crosses, bells, lanterns, chains, streamers, and in fact any form in the construction of which my invention may be available by reason of the nature of the improvements herein disclosed.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising a frame ring or member, and a multiplicity of wisps, or wreath components made of sheet material each having bat-Wing end portions, with a constricted waist portion, and means by which it is secured to said frame member, with itsends spread in bat-like disposition extending substantially radially fromr the frame member.

2. As an article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising the elements combined and co-operating as set forth in claim 1, and further characterized by having said wisps formed of translucent sheet material.

3. As an article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising the elements combined and cooperating as set forth in claim 1, and further characterized by having said wisps formed of translucent, brilliantly colored sheet material, such as Cellophane or Glassine.

4. As an article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising the elements combined and cooperating as set forth in claim 1, and further characterized by having said wisps formed of translucent sheet material, said wisps being disposed in contiguous relation to each other.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising a frame ring or member,

and a multiplicity of wisps, or wreath components made of sheet material each having a transverse twist forming a waist or constricted portion intermediate its ends, and at which it is secured to said frame member, with its ends spread in bat-like disposition extending substantially radially from the frame member, said wisps being Vari-colored.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising a frame ring or member, and a multiplicity of wisps, or wreath components made of sheet material each having a transverse twist forming a waist or constricted portion intermediate its ends, and at which it is secured to said frame member, with its ends spread in bat-like disposition extending substantially radially from the frame member, said wisps being vari-colored within their individual structure.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a decorative wreath comprising a frame ring or member, and a multiplicity of wisps, or wreath components made of sheet material each having a transverse twist forming a waist or constricted portion intermediate its ends, and at which it is secured to said frame member, with its ends spread in bat-like disposition extending substantially radially from the frame member, some of said wisps differing in color from other wisps.

8. The improved continuous method of fabricating a wreath which comprises the step of formingv a multiplicity of wisp component blanks each including at least one ply of flexible sheet material, twisting each of said blanks individually to form a twisted waist intermediate its ends, and assembling said wisps upon a frame member by the step of running a stitching thread through the waists of a series of said wisps While varying the disposition of said wisps relatively to each other, then stitching the thread to the frame member, and repeating the step with successive series of wisps, thereby securing the waists to said member and disposing the extremities of the wisps in bat-like, approximately parallel relation to each other, and respectively normal to the axis of said frame member.

9. The improved method of fabricating a wreath having novel'light-refractive and reflective characteristics, which comprises the step of forming a multiplicity of wisp component blanks each including at least one ply of flexible translucent sheet material, twisting each of said blanks individually to form a twisted waist intermediate its ends, and assembling said wisps upon a frame member by securing the waists to said member and disposing the extremities of the wisps in batlike, approximately parallel relation to each other, and respectively normal to the axis of said frame member, whereby the completed wreath constitutes a substantially continuous cylindrical formation with interstitial spaces having walls formed by the Wisp component sheets, through which the light is transmitted, by which it is refracted, and from which it is reflected in varying shades of brilliance.

10. A wreath characterized by the elements combined and cooperating as set forth in claim 1,

and further characterized by having adornments/ secured to the face of the wreath, each of said adornments comprising a nucleus and a polygonal envelope of sheet material having its corners twisted together to form a tail which is passed through the Wreath components and attached to the frame.

LUCY GRISOLIA. 

